Wah Lai Yuen in Vancouver Island

Our go-to place for authentic Chinese food and no-nonsense experience in Victoria. We love the crispy "Salt and pepper tofu" -- paired one of the vegetable dishes and small bowl of rice -- yummy and filling vegetarian meal for two.

Not greeted order upon entering or shown a seat. Server got my order wrong and never apologized... Only looked to my boyfriend when talking and confirming information. Ordered side of BBQ duck with rice. had to wait awhile before it came while boyfriend was eating. The duck was the worst duck I have ever eaten.. no flavor and dry yet the skin still had fat on it. Not sure if it was yesterday's BBQ. Does not come with any veggies or plum sauce or duck sauce. Got the pineapple coconut bun to go.. it was soft etc but probably because it wasn't baked thoroughly.

Terrible BBQ duck！The duck have not been cleaned up, you will see the duck feature when you are eating. Their lousy food upsets my stomach. Horrible experience.

Some of the best chinese food in victoria!! A friend showed me wah lai yuen and its my top choice. Love the crispy pork yumyumyum!!!

Friendly staff and delicious food!

Very good dishes, only too many onions.

Great food and service

Food was good however some of it was very greasy.. bakery is really good and would give 5 stars for that. Authentic food. I only gave it 3 stars because cashier was rude.. other than that it's a good spot.

Make sure you pick the barbecue pork or duck pieces otherwise you'll get some ok some very dry. Uneatable. Won't be back

Great food, great staff, very prompt service.

This is a great place to either stop & buy take out ready made groceries (bbq duck, pork, buns etc), grab a quick bite or join a group for a big meal. Today I just stopped in for wonton noodle soup with crispy pork & it was so amazing I forgot to snap a photo before I started eating. Prices are reasonable & service is great though I did ask for cold water, this being an especially hot day, but it never did arrive. If you want local & authentic, this is the place to eat.

Food is great, especially the honey buns, and BBQ buns. Can be confusing when paying, usually a big line up for the buns. Need the card machine for table service.

Delicious food and great service! Very reasonable prices! Huge portions! We love it!

Taste was satisfying. I would go again perhaps one day.

Get the 'BBQ Wonton Noodle Soup'! It's the best Wonton Soup I've had in Victoria! Their BBQ Pork buns are pretty good, too.

Been going here for 30 years - always good food and wonderful service.

Gai lan was very good. The crispy skin roast pork was overcooked however. Otherwise, the menu is great for Cantonese-style comfort food.

Excellent wonton noodle soup, fast, hot and tasty

I absolutely LOVE their crispy tofu, crispy noodles, spring rolls.. you name it, it is all REALLY good. Service is always AMAZING. Will continue to come back here!! 💗

One of the best Chinese bakeries I've been to hands down. The duck is incredibly delicious and I would recommend it to anyone.

Great Hongkongese food

Delicious wonton lo mein!

Great food Freindly. Staff Good price I eat there 2 times a week

Best bun in town ❤

I know this restaurant because of the very popular and rare phone booth outside it's storefront!

Fastest service. Excellent food. Roast pork wonton noodle soup is my go to.

I have ordered from here on Skip the Dishes too many times. The food has always been great and they never mess up the orders like almost every other restaurant on Skip does.

Really good beef flank and wonton soup. Very filling for a great price! I took a whole serving home after eating as much as I could! Staff were friendly and attentive and were very kind to some tactless tourists who were visiting the place. I would not have been that patient!

Food is fine here and servic is quick. The buns are good as well.

Really awesome authentic Cantonese food. Excellent service too!

Try the buns, all of the amazing buns, and the bbq meat in the window. Swear to god, we would return to Victoria just to eat here. One night we just ate a box of buns in our hotel instead of going out for a fancy dinner. (We did not have a sit-down meal- so cannot speak to their non-bakery meals).

Best noodle dumpling soup in the world.

I love this place. I know due to Covid19, you guys are closed. I wish you guys were open. I want to order food from you. I just ordered War Won Ton from Don Mee and it does not compare to yours. I want to order your egg tart. Your baked good. I wish you guys would stay open.

Best buns any where BBQ pork buns and curry buns my favorite must get everytime I'm in town.

A few years ago the first generation of staff / owners retired so did the food and service the next generation had no passion for the business it was easy to see , it’s been a few years but we stopped in last week happy to say the food and service is back . Not sure why it is such a problem when I ask if it is possible to get the pork sliced thinly for my soup instead of being all hacked up , they look at me like I’m crazy l think the cook is crazy they actually refuse to do it ?? “With out any doubt they have the best Honey Buns”

Simple place, but wonderful! Had the duck, best duck I have ever eaten! Buns are amazing too! Wish I lived in Victoria!

Ma po tofu rice is so good. They bring out Authentic Chinese tastes so well

Pretty standard fare. The portions were smaller than we expected. The seating was pretty tight.

Cheaper food and taste good

Decent vegan options. Good portions. Fresh.

Yum - congee and spicy tofu & noodles. Service is hit-or-miss. The younger servers give impression they don't want to be there and are not very customer-oriented. The more senior staff are helpful, remember your past orders and who you are. Still, it's where the locals go for great food, big portions, very reasonable prices. I recommend Wah Lai Yuen located to the right of the "Gates of Harmonious Interest' when you enter Chinatown from Government Street - look for the barbecued ducks hanging in the window!

I usually just get their excellent curry beef or red bean paste buns to go, but many people come in for the meats hanging in the window, and the dine-in dishes I've seen look good. Unpretentious decor..

in term of traditional Chinese cocking, this restaurant need quite a improve, the chef's cutting skill is pretty bad, but the serves are pretty nice, the environment are busy as expected, the food tast generally ok, and the BBQ duck were absolutely delicious

Congee and seafoods are awesome. It's not to expensive

Fantastic wonton noodle soup. Great fast service. Good portion size. Super hot, and cheap. New favorite

I haven't tried the restaurant, but the buns from the bakery are awesome here! We have some good Chinese bakeries in Calgary, but I would say this is better than most of them. Highly recommend the barbecue pork bun, and the pineapple bun with coconut filling.

The worst food I ever had, soya chicken has no taste , I had to put soya so I can swallow the rice. My friend ordered Spaghetti tasted so plain. Dont know abt other food but will never go back to there.

Best Chinese food on the island. Been going there since the 1980s. Family run now second generation, authentic Chinese food, in house bbq'd pork and duck and an amazing selection of bakery treats. Simply amazing!

Delicious! Love the option of the filled bakery items and menu items. The wonton noodle soup was simple and delicious, not salty or oily.